That’s the way Mike Modano felt 27 years ago when he left his home in Livonia, Mich. to move in with Ralph and Carol Ring in Prince Albert, Sask., John Diefenbaker’s home riding for more than two decades and home of the Western Hockey League’s Prince Albert Raiders.

Two years after that, Modano was the first overall pick in the NHL draft.

When he returned to “P.A.” to have his jersey retired last November, for the first time since leaving, he saw not much had changed.

“It was like a time warp,” he chuckled over the phone line from Dallas on Wednesday. “It was still like 1987. Nothing had changed. And it was kind of a neat thing.

“Everything was still the same, the people were the same and they remembered me being a part of it. They’re proud of their Raiders.”

More than a quarter-century later, another young man is wearing Raider green, gold and black, having moved far from home for the harsh winters of northern Saskatchewan.

This time, it’s 18-year-old Leon Draisaitl of Cologne, Germany, a centre just like Modano, a young man who is also being billeted by the same Ring family, and who maybe, just maybe is headed toward becoming the first German ever selected first overall in the NHL draft.

Featured in Wednesday night’s BMO Top Prospects game at the Saddledome, Draisaitl has jumped to No. 2 in the NHL mid-season draft rankings, just behind Sam Bennett of the Kingston Frontenacs, and just ahead of Barrie Colts defenceman Aaron Ekblad and Kootenay Ice centre Sam Reinhart.

Modano, who met with Draisaitl and his old billet — Carol is hosting the young German, while Ralph has passed — when he visited Prince Albert in early November, sees some similarities in their shared Raiders experience.

“The one thing we both had going is we were just 16 when we got there, a little naive, hadn’t seen much of anything,” said Modano. “Geez, I had just got my driver’s licence.

“It was a tight community, all hockey 24/7. You know everybody in town and everybody knows you. It was a chance to be exposed to hockey in Canada, a learning experience about how much they love the game, how passionate they are, and you start to love the game just as much.”

Modano joined a team that had just won its first and only Memorial Cup with players like Pat Elynuik, Dave Manson and Ken Baumgartner. Draisaitl is playing his second season with a Raiders squad that was supposed to be strong this season but is currently mired in eighth place.

“He’s a big kid, maybe not the fastest afoot, but that will come,” said Modano. “He’s certainly got a creative side.”

Draisaitl is just back from the world junior hockey championships where he captained Germany, but struggled and was suspended for a game for an illegal check.

“I didn’t play very well,” he said morosely. “But I did better at the end.”

With Germany facing relegation in a two-of-three series against Norway after losing the first game, Draisaitl scored twice in the second game, including the game winner, and assisted twice in the third as Germany survived.

NHL scouts didn’t seem deterred by his overall performance, and bumped him into the second overall spot in the rankings. No German player has ever gone in the top 10 of the NHL draft, although German-born Dany Heatley went second overall in the 2000 draft.

Among German nationals, Marcel Goc was selected 20th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2001, and before that, Marco Sturm was taken by the Sharks 21st in 1996.

“It’s hard to do something special as a German in sports,” said Draisaitl when asked about possibly going No. 1. “Especially in hockey.”

His father, Peter, played in three Olympics, including 1988 at the Saddledome and in the 1992 Albertville Games, went he was a participant in one of the most dramatic moments in recent Olympics for Canada.

With Canada and Germany in a quarter-final shootout, Eric Lindros gave the Canadians the lead, with Peter Draisaitl needing to beat Sean Burke to keep Germany alive.

The elder Draisaitl’s shot did trickle through Burke’s legs, but stopped one inch short of the goal-line and Canada avoided what would have been a massive upset.

Leon seems to also have a connection to historic events, as he was in attendance at the 2010 world championships opener between Germany and the U.S. at a soccer stadium in Gelsenkirchen that drew 77,803, the largest crowd ever for an international hockey match.

Father and son still talk via Skype almost every day, with the older Draisaitl coaching in the Czech Republic.

Going into the top prospects game, Leon sat 11th in WHL scoring with 19 goals and 35 assists in 35 games. Those aren’t quite Modano numbers — he had a hat trick in his first game in a Raiders uniform and 127 points in his second season — but nobody’s comparing that young American to this young German.

As Raiders, however, they’ve shared an experience, and may just have something else in common by late June.

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